WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The USCB women's soccer team saw its four-game unbeaten streak come to an end Monday, as the Sand Sharks were defeated 3-0 by undefeated and second-ranked Keiser in a Sun Conference contest. 

"Unfortunately, the Keiser pressure and athleticism today kept us from getting into a rhythm offensively," USCB coach Ed Heberling said. "When we did connect, we created some quality chances, and Felicia Alpenmyr and Hayley Pina played well up top, especially in the first half." 

The Seahawks (12-0, 5-0 TSC) opened the scoring in the 17th minute, when Johanna Engberg scored on a header off a Kiera Heslam corner kick, but the Sand Sharks kept it a one-game match heading to halftime. 

Keiser added to the lead just over two minutes into the second half, as Fillippa Millqvist played a ball through to Sara Lundberg, who chipped a shot over USCB goalkeeper Moa Johansson. Ebba Blomqvist converted a penalty kick for the final goal after the Sand Sharks were called for a handball in the box in the 52nd minute.

USCB's back line did solid work against the Seahawks' potent attack, allowing just 15 shots – Keiser's lowest total since it had 13 in a season-opening 1-0 win over NCAA Division II Lynn – and Johansson made five saves and several more plays to come off her line and thwart potential scoring chances. 

"I have to give a lot of credit to Moa and the back line. Although the score was 3-0, it doesn't reflect their work back there," Heberling said. "Keiser only scored on goal in the run of play and was not able to break us down in the central part of the park." 

Although the Sand Sharks (7-6-1, 3-2-1) come away from their two-game road trip with just one point, they remain in good shape in the Sun Conference standings. USCB sits in fourth place with 10 points and has head-to-head matchups against two of the top three teams in the table looming this week with SCAD Savannah visiting Fin Land Field at 3 p.m. Thursday and USCB hosting Thomas at 2 p.m. Saturday.

"This was a challenging weekend for us, but I feel we can walk away knowing we can compete at a high level," Heberling said. "There were a lot of positives we can build on as we come back home this week for huge games against SCAD and Thomas."

BOJANGLES' PLAYER OF THE GAME
Elin Sturesson
Freshman • Defender • Angelholm, Sweden

Sturesson was pivotal in helping the Sand Sharks limit Keiser's chances in the middle of the park, as the freshman center back repeatedly shut down attacks and forced the Seahawks to the outside.